Meaning

3 senses

  1. (obsolete)Morbid matter created by a disease.

  2. (archaic)Synonym of fomite: a substance able to communicate infection between people.

    Toys are common fomites.

  3. (archaic, figuratively)Anything which similarly facilitates the spread of something similarly deleterious.

More definitions
  • genus of bracket fungi forming corky or woody perennial shelflike sporophores often of large size; includes some that cause destructive heartrot in trees

Origin

From medical Latin fōmes (“fomite”), a figurative extension of its original sense of kindl

From medical Latin fōmes (“fomite”), a figurative extension of its original sense of kindling, tinder, etc. Gradually supplanted in use by fomite, a mistaken backformation of its plural form fomites, from Latin fōmitēs.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: fomites
Singularfomes
Pluralfomites

irregular

Synonyms

2 synonyms
fomite
Close in meaning
  • genus of bracket fungi forming corky or woody perennial shelflike sporophores often of large size; includes some that cause destructive heartrot in trees:genus Fomes

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
follyB2fomentfondB1fondle

Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.

fomes — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto